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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Huckleberry Life: Play Snow {Sensory Activity}

Soooo...I was suppose to give you guys a tour of my house all tricked out for Christmas today. Unfortunately, this nasty weather that has stuck around since last week has made taking indoor pictures impossible! We have been almost completely overcast for the past four days, and while it makes for great snuggling it does NOT make for great photos.

And I insist on the best for you guys. Because I love y'all.

So while we are waiting for the sun to make a reappearance {soon please, señor sol!}, the kids and I have been cooped up inside, going a little stir crazy. Which is why I decided to introduce a new sensory play to let them release some creative energy.

We made play snow! It is really simple to make: 3 cups of baking soda mixed with a half a cup of conditioner. I would recommend a white conditioner so your snow stays that color. I found the recipe here and have had the ingredients for awhile. I was just trying to muster up the courage to make it for the kids because I know how some of these sensory plays can get a little out of hand, especially when it comes to the clean up. The last one I made was the moon sand recipe using flour and baby oil.

It. Was. Awful.

I don't know if any of you have tried it and maybe had a different experience {or were smarter than me and made your kids do this outside} but I am still having nightmares about the mess this seemingly innocuous sensory play caused. I know that kids are suppose to get dirty and I knew that introducing this moon sand to my littles would require some clean up effort on my part {especially since they are very enthusiastic in their play and rarely are able to keep everything inside the container} but oh my word. This was the very definition of a hot mess. It did not sweep up so I had to vacuum it up and then it left an oil slick behind it that I had to scrub off the floor. And the table. And their hands. And everything else it touched. Just a really, really awful time.

But, hey, the kids loved playing with it, so I guess it was a success on that end.

Anyways, now you know why I was so hesitant to introduce this play snow to my kids. But I rallied the troops, screwed up my courage and gave it a go. I am so glad that I did.

This play snow is so much fun! Both my kids {ages 4 and 2} really got a kick out of it. It molds easily, feels cool to the touch and smells like freshly washed hair. Mmmmm.

Plus, the clean up was a breeze. Huzzah! Both products dissolved almost immediately when rinsed under water {bonus: no need for soap!} and it swept up with no problems.

The only snowmen we get in south Texas.

Also, if you seal your play snow in an airtight container, it will stay good and the fun can continue the next day!

So sorry that I wasn't able to give y'all the Christmas tour of my house! But hopefully you will try the play snow and get a kick out of it!

Just saw this shared on Facebook! This looks like such fun for the little ones. I love that it is easy clean up too. I would love for you to stop by and share this on my weekly Toddler Idea Tuesday link up. I feature a couple of posts each week, linking back to the original post. And if I post about us making this, I will definitely link back to you. I always give credit back to the original blog. Will definitely be pinning this. Here is the link to my Toddler Idea Tuesday, if you would like to stop by.http://totsandme.blogspot.com/2014/11/toddler-ideas-tuesday-november-25-2014.html

Hi Lydia,Thanks for linking up with Toddler Idea Tuesday. I just wanted to let you know that this post was featured on this week's Toddler Idea Tuesday and I have pinned it to my Toddler Ideas board. I hope to see you stop by again with other fun ideas. Have a great day.

Yes I'll make this for my 3 yr old...she'll love it! She also loves the 'moon sand' you discribes...so much I made it in different colors too! I'm sure you think I'm crazy for doing that due to your experience...but here's the catch why...I had a huge (well, probably between 3X3 & 4X4) peice of left over paneling used in a remodeling project this past summer. It worked great! Yes, I prefer the stuff outside too. And, yes, there is still some clean up, but as long as I remind her to 'keep it in the middle" it works great! Plus its flexible so I can funnel whats left after clean up right into a garbage can! And I'll use it for the 'snow' too! :-D

The scarf is just a piece of ribbon and I made the hat using stiff felt that I had laying around. I just cut a circle for the brim and then a strip for the top hat part and hot glued it together. The arms are toothpicks with the points snipped off and I was able to use a marker to make the face. :) Hope this helps!

We did this this morning and 2 1/2 hours later my son (3) is still playing with it. I work from home so any time I can come up with an activity that keeps him quiet with out the TV is amazing! Thank you!! I have him up in the high chair and besides a few sweeps around him (which has been super easy) the mess has been super minimal. Thank you!!!!!

So excited to find this. All of the other recipes I find like this call for shaving cream, but I feel better about using the conditioner.

The other day I allowed my three-year-old to play with sugar cubes (our ice blocks) and then I just got out the bag of sugar and put it with a little glitter onto his train table with some trucks. I probably didn't think that one through long enough, but he really enjoyed it...played an hour at first, and then he went back to it later for at least 30 more minutes.

I'd like to make this and send it to my grandson for Christmas. I'd make it about a week before he'd get it. Should I send the ingredients separately, or if it is in an airtight container, should it be okay? Thank you

So I tried this out this evening with my three kiddos. I got baking soda and accidentally bought shampoo instead of conditioner at the dollar store. Well we went ahead and mixed it up and the consistency was right but the smell was absolutely horrendous. It smelled really chemically. It was a pain to clean up! I am wondering which variable made my play snow into my biggest pinterest fail yet! Either buying supplies from dollar store or the shampoo instead of the conditioner.